Roger Wakeley Kidner (1914–2007) was a railway enthusiast and noted publisher whose imprint, The Oakwood Press, published many of the earliest books on

British narrow-gauge railways There were more than a thousand British narrow-gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways. Many notable events in British railway history happened on narrow-gauge railway ...

Biography

Kidner was born on 16 March 1914, the son of civil servant Arthur, and Mabel. His love of railways stemmed from being given a few

Locomotive Publishing Company The Locomotive Publishing Company was an English publishing house, specialising in railway topics. It was noted for publishing '' Locomotive Magazine'', amongst many other highly regarded titles. It was also notable as one of the first stock pho ...

postcards in primary school. He attended

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

where he struck up a friendship with Michael Robbins. The two bonded over a shared interest in railways, and in 1931, they founded The Four Os to publish a newsletter called ''Locomotion''. Both were still at school, and the company operated out of Kidner's parents' garage. \ In 1935, Kidner and Robbins changed the name of their nascent publishing house to The Oakwood Press and published their first book, ''Railway Bibliography'' by Canon Fellows. This was followed in 1936 by L.T. Catchpole's ''The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway'' which is still in print in its 9th edition. Meanwhile, after a year at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

Kidner was working as an editor of travel guides for

Benn Brothers Ernest Benn Limited was a British publishing house. Sir John Benn Founded by Sir John Benn as Benn Brothers in 1880, it started as the publisher of the trade journal, ''The Cabinet Maker''. Ernest Benn After Sir John was elected to Parliamen ...

. In 1938, Oakwood published the first train spotter's guide, called ''How to Recognise Southern Railway Locomotives'' written by Kidner. Kidner travelled widely to research the railways that his authors wrote about. He visited the

Lynton and Barnstaple Railway The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, narrow gauge railway and was slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, ...

in 1935 with Catchpole, and the

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations ...

in 1926 and 1934. The Oakwood Press suspended publication during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and Kidner served in the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

where he rose to the rank of Major. He also married Beryl Walton in 1943. After the war he resumed publishing, though was initially restricted by paper rationing. He published James I. C. Boyd's seminal series on the narrow-gauge railways of north Wales, starting in 1949 with ''Narrow Gauge Rails to Portmadoc'' which drew attention to the then-closed Ffestiniog Railway and was instrumental in its eventual restoration. Michael Robbins dropped out of the business in the 1950s. In 1972, Kidner retired from his work in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

to focus full-time on The Oakwood Press. He broadened the range of subjects covered, to include biographies of railwaymen and books about trams,

traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...

s, buses and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

s. He sold The Oakwood Press in 1984, but kept in close contact with the new owner, writing and editing books. He died of cancer in 2007.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidner, Roger English non-fiction writers Rail transport writers Railway historians Historians of technology 1914 births 2007 deaths English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers